Modern Bounty Hunting - Paladin Press
Contents
PREFACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ix INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 PART I: IT’S THE LAW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 1: Fugitive Recovery Laws . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 2: Your Legal Authority to Arrest . . . . . . . Chapter 3: Legal Documents to Acquire and Carry Chapter 4: What Is Your Legal Liability? . . . . . . . Chapter 5: Firearms and the Law . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 6: Use-of-Force Guidelines . . . . . . . . . .
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.5 .7 11 15 17 21 27
PART II: ARE YOU CUT OUT TO BE A BAIL FUGITIVE RECOVERY PERSON? Chapter 7: What Training Do You Need? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 8: How Do You Relate to People? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 9: Understanding the Adrenal Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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PART III: TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 10: Starting Your New Business . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 11: How to Get That First Contract . . . . . . . . . Chapter 12: Dealing with Those Crafty Bail Agents . . . . Chapter 13: Choosing Partners or Individual Contractors Chapter 14: The Pros and Cons of Wanted Posters . . . . Chapter 15: Getting Paid for All Your Hard Work . . . . .
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51 53 61 65 69 75 79
PART IV: TAKING CARE OF YOU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 16: Preserving Your Anonymity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 17: Taking Universal Precautions . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 18: Dealing with Bail Fugitives Under the Influence Chapter 19: How Does the “Three-Strikes” Law Affect You? . Chapter 20: Just Say No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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83 85 89 91 95 99
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PART V: TRACKING DOWN, ARRESTING, TRANSPORTING, AND BOOKING FUGITIVES Chapter 21: Where to Start? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 22: Working with Law Enforcement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 23: Working Solo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 24: Team Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 25: Locating the Right Bail Fugitive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 26: Reconfirming Your Right to Arrest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 27: Arresting and Controlling Bail Fugitives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 28: Transporting Bail Fugitives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 29: Booking Bail Fugitives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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103 105 109 113 117 123 125 129 135 141
CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 APPENDIXES A: State Laws on Bail Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .147 B: Sample Letters to Bail Agents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 C. Sample Wanted Posters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 D. Standard California 1301 Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 E. Sample Independent Contractor Agreement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165 F. Complete and Full Waiver of Liability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171 G: Sample Policy on the Use of Force and Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173 H. Examples of Official Forms and Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175 1. Bail Bond Face Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .175 2. Court Clerk Stamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .176 3. Notice of Forfeiture from San Bernardino County . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .176 4. Notice of Forfeiture from Santa Clara County . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .177 5. Generic Authority to Arrest Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .178 6. Four Bench Warrants with Night Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .179–182 7. Affidavit of Undertaking of Bail for Surrender of Defendant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .183 8. Request by Indemnitor for Surrender of Principal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .184 9. Multiple Bonds on Same Person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .185–187 10. A Sample Agreement for Surety Bail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .188 11. Indemnitor/Guarantor Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .189 I. Example of Bail Bond Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191 J. Field Interview Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193 K. State-by-State Statutory Surrender Time on Forfeited Bonds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195 L. Bail Fugitive Recovery Payment Agreement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197 M. Law Enforcement Agency’s Notification of Attempts to Arrest Bail Fugitive . . . . . . . . . . . . 199 N. Contract Enforcement Services Activity Time Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201 O. Sample Activity Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203 P. In-House Incident Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205 Q. Supplementary Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207 GLOSSARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209 RESOURCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Warning
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This book is not intended as an official training manual or a policy and procedure manual. It was not designed to replace instruction from qualified instructors on the methods and techniques involved in bail fugitive recovery, which can be a very dangerous profession requiring specific skills and training.
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Further, bail enforcement laws differ in various states, counties, and municipalities. It is up to you to know what the governing laws are in the various jurisdictions you may be operating in and to comply fully with them. Failure to do so can result in legal action against you.
PART ONE It’s the Law
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CHAPTER ONE
Fugitive Recovery Laws
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Before attempting to establish yourself in bail recovery work, you must determine whether bail is even legal in your state, under what conditions, and whether you meet the criteria. Every state has some provision for recovering bail, but not all allow “bounty hunters.” Appendix A summarizes the various state laws governing bail recovery. At the time of this printing, four states—Illinois, Kentucky, Oregon, and Wisconsin—outlaw commercial bonding, public bail systems, or bounty hunters. Three states—Florida, North Carolina, and South Carolina—have banned “freelance” bounty hunters, but allow “bail runners” who work for one bail agent at a time. Thirteen states—Arizona, California, Connecticut, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, New York, South Dakota, Utah, Washington (effective December 2005), and West Virginia—require bail recovery agents to be licensed. Seven states—Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas—have enacted legislation regulating bail enforcement agents in various ways. If you have access to the Internet and want to conduct more in-depth research on bail recovery legislation, you can go to the Web sites listed in the Resources section at the back of the book. Particularly useful is the Fugitive Recovery Network’s site (www.fugitive-recovery.com), which provides more details on the laws in all 50 states, including the following: • • • • • • • •
Applicable state laws and court rulings Licensing requirements for bond agents and bail recovery agents Forfeiture provisions to the surety and agent Time period between the forfeiture notice and payment Forfeiture defenses Remission period Bail agent’s authority to arrest Bounty hunter provisions
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MODERN BOUNTY HUNTING 8 Just remember that laws are in a constant state of change, so be sure to correctly identify whether or not the laws cited for your state are in fact current. Certainly, the Internet is a big help in researching bail recovery laws, but in my opinion, the best place to start your legal research is at your local law library, which is generally found in the courthouse in the county seat. For example, in my area, San Joaquin County, the best-equipped law library is located at the courthouse in Stockton. At first, you may find yourself overwhelmed by the expanse of books filled with legal jargon. However, in most states legislation concerning bail bonds is found in the sections on criminal procedures and/or insurance. A few states have a division of licenses, and statutes relating to licensing criteria likely will be found there. Once you’ve found the section pertaining to penal/ criminal codes and or insurance/licensing regulations, pull the book that contains the section or sections covering “bail” and start scanning for the areas you should study. Keep in mind that in each state, counties, parishes, cities, towns, and a variety of law enforcement agencies may have slightly different laws or mind-sets when it comes to bail fugitive recovery agents. It is up to you to discern and define the jurisdictions of the different agencies with which you must work and to comply with the specific laws and regulations of each. Most states, but not all, define who can be a bail recovery agent. The most common criteria are as follows: • • • • •
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Minimum age (usually either 18 or 21) Proof of completion of mandatory training requirements and/or passing of examination U.S. citizenship or legal residency State residency (usually 6 months to 1 year) No felonies or convictions for violent crimes (criminal background check, with fingerprinting, required) No mental health problems that would
interfere with the ability to perform the duties of the job For example, in California prior to January 1, 2000, any person of “suitable age” and with no felony convictions could be given an authority-to-arrest form, a court-certified copy of the bail bond, and begin the hunt. This is no longer the case. Now you must be at least 18 years old and carry proof that the following criteria have been met: • • • •
Completion of an 832 PC course approved by the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission Completion of 12 hours of classroom education pursuant to California Insurance Code §1810.7 Completion of a power to arrest course pursuant to California Business and Professions Code §7583.7 Or possession of California private investigator license pursuant to Chapter 11.3 of Division 3 starting with Business and Professions Code §7512
In California, if you don’t have private investigator’s license, you will have to find a community college offering the one-week 832 PC course, which costs around $100. Next, you apply at a security company, take the powers-toarrest test, get your B&P 7583.7 slip, and then respectfully decline the job. Finally, contact one of the prelicensing bail agent schools and sign up there or check the California Department of Insurance Web site at www.insurance.ca.gov for more information on other schools. This twoday course will run you around $400. For other states, a simple Internet search using the key words bail licensing should do the trick. Once you’ve got all of your certifications, make miniature copies, laminate them, and slip them into your dedicated wallet (one you use only for bail work, which is discussed in more detail later). Stick the originals in a file folder and keep them in your “mobile office” for viewing if necessary.
FUGITIVE RECOVERY LAWS 9
LESSON FROM THE STREET It had been a long night of hopping from city to city in search of three bail fugitives. We were all tired by the time we were ready to launch our last residential inspection, so we parked at a convenience store, had a passer-by take a couple of group photos of us for posterity, and called the local dispatch to advise the cops of our intentions. The dispatcher told us to wait where we were for a supervisor. A few minutes passed before a marked patrol car arrived. The driver, a Hispanic man with distinguished gray hair at the temples and sergeant stripes, pulled up to where we were standing. “You guys bounty hunters?” Jerr y replied, “No, sir, bounty hunters chew tobacco and have three first names; we’re bail agents.” The sergeant looked us over. I caught his name tag. He was the same sergeant who had arrested one of my contemporaries a month earlier for failing to have all of his documents in order. “Let me see your 1299 Certs,” he demanded.
My whole team withdrew their dedicated wallets and began handing the sergeant miniaturized, laminated copies of all of our 1299 certifications [see page 15 for more on 1299 certifications, which are required in California before a recovery agent can attempt an arrest] and even certifications that weren’t required. “Okay, okay,” the overwhelmed sergeant conceded. “How do you read these?” Jerry handed him a pocket-magnifying sheet of plastic. The sergeant examined a couple of certifications and said, “Happy hunting.” The patrol sergeant, at the very least, would have run us out of town and, at the very worst, moved to arrest my whole team had we not been in compliance with 1299. You will most likely not be asked to produce your certifications, but, if things go wrong, you can bet any part of your anatomy that the local deputy district attorney will heavily scrutinize your whole operation. Get legal before you take on that first case, and make certain you carry all the requisite certification with you.
PREFACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ix INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 PART I: IT’S THE LAW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 1: Fugitive Recovery Laws . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 2: Your Legal Authority to Arrest . . . . . . . Chapter 3: Legal Documents to Acquire and Carry Chapter 4: What Is Your Legal Liability? . . . . . . . Chapter 5: Firearms and the Law . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 6: Use-of-Force Guidelines . . . . . . . . . .
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.5 .7 11 15 17 21 27
PART II: ARE YOU CUT OUT TO BE A BAIL FUGITIVE RECOVERY PERSON? Chapter 7: What Training Do You Need? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 8: How Do You Relate to People? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 9: Understanding the Adrenal Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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PART III: TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 10: Starting Your New Business . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 11: How to Get That First Contract . . . . . . . . . Chapter 12: Dealing with Those Crafty Bail Agents . . . . Chapter 13: Choosing Partners or Individual Contractors Chapter 14: The Pros and Cons of Wanted Posters . . . . Chapter 15: Getting Paid for All Your Hard Work . . . . .
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PART IV: TAKING CARE OF YOU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 16: Preserving Your Anonymity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 17: Taking Universal Precautions . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 18: Dealing with Bail Fugitives Under the Influence Chapter 19: How Does the “Three-Strikes” Law Affect You? . Chapter 20: Just Say No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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MODERN BOUNTY HUNTING vi
PART V: TRACKING DOWN, ARRESTING, TRANSPORTING, AND BOOKING FUGITIVES Chapter 21: Where to Start? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 22: Working with Law Enforcement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 23: Working Solo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 24: Team Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 25: Locating the Right Bail Fugitive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 26: Reconfirming Your Right to Arrest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 27: Arresting and Controlling Bail Fugitives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 28: Transporting Bail Fugitives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 29: Booking Bail Fugitives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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103 105 109 113 117 123 125 129 135 141
CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 APPENDIXES A: State Laws on Bail Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .147 B: Sample Letters to Bail Agents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 C. Sample Wanted Posters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 D. Standard California 1301 Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 E. Sample Independent Contractor Agreement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165 F. Complete and Full Waiver of Liability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171 G: Sample Policy on the Use of Force and Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173 H. Examples of Official Forms and Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175 1. Bail Bond Face Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .175 2. Court Clerk Stamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .176 3. Notice of Forfeiture from San Bernardino County . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .176 4. Notice of Forfeiture from Santa Clara County . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .177 5. Generic Authority to Arrest Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .178 6. Four Bench Warrants with Night Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .179–182 7. Affidavit of Undertaking of Bail for Surrender of Defendant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .183 8. Request by Indemnitor for Surrender of Principal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .184 9. Multiple Bonds on Same Person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .185–187 10. A Sample Agreement for Surety Bail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .188 11. Indemnitor/Guarantor Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .189 I. Example of Bail Bond Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191 J. Field Interview Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193 K. State-by-State Statutory Surrender Time on Forfeited Bonds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195 L. Bail Fugitive Recovery Payment Agreement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197 M. Law Enforcement Agency’s Notification of Attempts to Arrest Bail Fugitive . . . . . . . . . . . . 199 N. Contract Enforcement Services Activity Time Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201 O. Sample Activity Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203 P. In-House Incident Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205 Q. Supplementary Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207 GLOSSARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209 RESOURCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Warning
T
This book is not intended as an official training manual or a policy and procedure manual. It was not designed to replace instruction from qualified instructors on the methods and techniques involved in bail fugitive recovery, which can be a very dangerous profession requiring specific skills and training.
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Further, bail enforcement laws differ in various states, counties, and municipalities. It is up to you to know what the governing laws are in the various jurisdictions you may be operating in and to comply fully with them. Failure to do so can result in legal action against you.
PART ONE It’s the Law
5
CHAPTER ONE
Fugitive Recovery Laws
B
Before attempting to establish yourself in bail recovery work, you must determine whether bail is even legal in your state, under what conditions, and whether you meet the criteria. Every state has some provision for recovering bail, but not all allow “bounty hunters.” Appendix A summarizes the various state laws governing bail recovery. At the time of this printing, four states—Illinois, Kentucky, Oregon, and Wisconsin—outlaw commercial bonding, public bail systems, or bounty hunters. Three states—Florida, North Carolina, and South Carolina—have banned “freelance” bounty hunters, but allow “bail runners” who work for one bail agent at a time. Thirteen states—Arizona, California, Connecticut, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, New York, South Dakota, Utah, Washington (effective December 2005), and West Virginia—require bail recovery agents to be licensed. Seven states—Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas—have enacted legislation regulating bail enforcement agents in various ways. If you have access to the Internet and want to conduct more in-depth research on bail recovery legislation, you can go to the Web sites listed in the Resources section at the back of the book. Particularly useful is the Fugitive Recovery Network’s site (www.fugitive-recovery.com), which provides more details on the laws in all 50 states, including the following: • • • • • • • •
Applicable state laws and court rulings Licensing requirements for bond agents and bail recovery agents Forfeiture provisions to the surety and agent Time period between the forfeiture notice and payment Forfeiture defenses Remission period Bail agent’s authority to arrest Bounty hunter provisions
7
MODERN BOUNTY HUNTING 8 Just remember that laws are in a constant state of change, so be sure to correctly identify whether or not the laws cited for your state are in fact current. Certainly, the Internet is a big help in researching bail recovery laws, but in my opinion, the best place to start your legal research is at your local law library, which is generally found in the courthouse in the county seat. For example, in my area, San Joaquin County, the best-equipped law library is located at the courthouse in Stockton. At first, you may find yourself overwhelmed by the expanse of books filled with legal jargon. However, in most states legislation concerning bail bonds is found in the sections on criminal procedures and/or insurance. A few states have a division of licenses, and statutes relating to licensing criteria likely will be found there. Once you’ve found the section pertaining to penal/ criminal codes and or insurance/licensing regulations, pull the book that contains the section or sections covering “bail” and start scanning for the areas you should study. Keep in mind that in each state, counties, parishes, cities, towns, and a variety of law enforcement agencies may have slightly different laws or mind-sets when it comes to bail fugitive recovery agents. It is up to you to discern and define the jurisdictions of the different agencies with which you must work and to comply with the specific laws and regulations of each. Most states, but not all, define who can be a bail recovery agent. The most common criteria are as follows: • • • • •
•
Minimum age (usually either 18 or 21) Proof of completion of mandatory training requirements and/or passing of examination U.S. citizenship or legal residency State residency (usually 6 months to 1 year) No felonies or convictions for violent crimes (criminal background check, with fingerprinting, required) No mental health problems that would
interfere with the ability to perform the duties of the job For example, in California prior to January 1, 2000, any person of “suitable age” and with no felony convictions could be given an authority-to-arrest form, a court-certified copy of the bail bond, and begin the hunt. This is no longer the case. Now you must be at least 18 years old and carry proof that the following criteria have been met: • • • •
Completion of an 832 PC course approved by the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission Completion of 12 hours of classroom education pursuant to California Insurance Code §1810.7 Completion of a power to arrest course pursuant to California Business and Professions Code §7583.7 Or possession of California private investigator license pursuant to Chapter 11.3 of Division 3 starting with Business and Professions Code §7512
In California, if you don’t have private investigator’s license, you will have to find a community college offering the one-week 832 PC course, which costs around $100. Next, you apply at a security company, take the powers-toarrest test, get your B&P 7583.7 slip, and then respectfully decline the job. Finally, contact one of the prelicensing bail agent schools and sign up there or check the California Department of Insurance Web site at www.insurance.ca.gov for more information on other schools. This twoday course will run you around $400. For other states, a simple Internet search using the key words bail licensing should do the trick. Once you’ve got all of your certifications, make miniature copies, laminate them, and slip them into your dedicated wallet (one you use only for bail work, which is discussed in more detail later). Stick the originals in a file folder and keep them in your “mobile office” for viewing if necessary.
FUGITIVE RECOVERY LAWS 9
LESSON FROM THE STREET It had been a long night of hopping from city to city in search of three bail fugitives. We were all tired by the time we were ready to launch our last residential inspection, so we parked at a convenience store, had a passer-by take a couple of group photos of us for posterity, and called the local dispatch to advise the cops of our intentions. The dispatcher told us to wait where we were for a supervisor. A few minutes passed before a marked patrol car arrived. The driver, a Hispanic man with distinguished gray hair at the temples and sergeant stripes, pulled up to where we were standing. “You guys bounty hunters?” Jerr y replied, “No, sir, bounty hunters chew tobacco and have three first names; we’re bail agents.” The sergeant looked us over. I caught his name tag. He was the same sergeant who had arrested one of my contemporaries a month earlier for failing to have all of his documents in order. “Let me see your 1299 Certs,” he demanded.
My whole team withdrew their dedicated wallets and began handing the sergeant miniaturized, laminated copies of all of our 1299 certifications [see page 15 for more on 1299 certifications, which are required in California before a recovery agent can attempt an arrest] and even certifications that weren’t required. “Okay, okay,” the overwhelmed sergeant conceded. “How do you read these?” Jerry handed him a pocket-magnifying sheet of plastic. The sergeant examined a couple of certifications and said, “Happy hunting.” The patrol sergeant, at the very least, would have run us out of town and, at the very worst, moved to arrest my whole team had we not been in compliance with 1299. You will most likely not be asked to produce your certifications, but, if things go wrong, you can bet any part of your anatomy that the local deputy district attorney will heavily scrutinize your whole operation. Get legal before you take on that first case, and make certain you carry all the requisite certification with you.
